For generations, my family have always known how important education is. And in Singapore, your education is everything. I remember the being locked in school until 5 pm for extracurriculars, then going home to eat dinner, just to be forced come back to school to study until midnight with my peers. Despite all the burnout I felt, I still chose to pursue a doctorate. In fact, I am the first in my family to get my doctorate and it has been a heavy burden to carry despite it being my dream career.
In Asian culture, everything you do impacts your family. Being the first to pursue a doctorate degree is an even scarier feeling. Not only do I live with constant imposter syndrome, but I also always worry about what my family and others think of my family if I fail. But as I get older and connect with people that have the same struggles as me, I have learned to manage my personal battles and find a separation between my goals as an individual and the goals of my family – something that I have learned from living in the U.S. for the last 10 years.
I love and embrace my culture. But like many other Asian Americans, sometimes it feels like you don’t belong in neither the ethnic nor American communities. However, being able to go to school with other Asian Americans that have the same struggles as me has helped me appreciate both identities and been a major support system while in dental school.
I have always gravitated towards healthcare and knew I wanted to pursue a career in the field. I actually struggled trying to decide what I wanted to do, and it wasn’t until my gap year between undergrad and dental school when I fully decided that dentistry was for me. The number of times I heard how people’s oral health status was affecting their ability to eat really struck me. I couldn’t imagine a life where my ability to enjoy the foods I like was limited just because I wasn’t physically able to. I want to help people enjoy their lives and feel good about their smile. Since starting dental school, being in clinic has allowed me to see how small things can make huge impact in their lives. I am happy with the decision I’ve made to pursue dentistry and look forward to the future where I can hear stories of patients being able to eat outside without being self-conscious, or even traveling the world to try new things.
Utah will always have a place in my heart. It was the state I moved to when I first left Singapore and is my second home. The University of Utah School of Dentistry provides great clinical experience, and the small class size makes the experience more personalized. The smaller community allows me to know each of my classmates on a more personal level and creates a bigger support system while in school. One of the reasons I also picked this school is because it’s a newer school. Yet as younger school, they are still trying to figure things out. The school does not let it hold them back as they are responsive to input from students and are willing to listen when the students struggle. When I was in undergrad, I worked at a new building on campus that was also trying to figure things out. Even though there was a lot of chaos, I enjoyed being there and helping make the experience better for me, my co-workers, and future student employees. Being able to contribute to improve the school is fulfilling for me and I wanted to be able to contribute to my school in whatever way I can.
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